


Sadder Endings to Musicals

by orphan_account



Category: Bonnie & Clyde - Wildhorn/Black/Menchell, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo, Next to Normal - Kitt/Yorkey, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber, Rent - Larson
Genre: Broadway, Character Death, Death, F/M, Musicals, Sad Ending, Theatre
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-03 11:19:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1742894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I'm a sadist and a masochist. Here are some sadder endings to musicals, or at least different endings depending on your tastes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sadder Endings to Musicals - The Phantom of the Opera

"My patience grows thin. Make. Your. Choice."  
His voice echoed through the cavernous room, bathed in shadow and lit only by flickering candlelight. Christine's heart was pounding in her chest, behind her she could hear the heavy breathing of Raoul. She dare not look at the beautiful boy with the red scarf, red rope now twisted around his neck. There wasn't anything she could say now. With a slow, shaking hand, Christine lifted the fallen veil to her auburn curls.  
"Christine, no," A ragged whisper from behind her. Christine lowered her head, the material falling around her face and mingling with hot tears. A slow, heavy laugh came from above her, followed by a deep breath.  
"I'm glad to see you've come to your senses," The Phantom said smoothly, and it stung Christine's ears.  
She looked up to watch him cross over to Raoul. With one swift motion and a flash of silver, the rope was sliced. Raoul fell to his knees and gasped for air, landing hard on the rock of the cavern. The moment he could breathe he looked back up at Christine, eyes just as teary as hers, and started to run towards her. The Phantom's arm shot out, pressed against Raoul's chest to keep him from moving.  
"I'm afraid, Monsieur Chagny, you can't see her now."  
Christine turned away. She had been trying to hold the tears back, but they poured mercilessly now as she gasped for air, gasped for sunlight and a warm breeze. But none would come to her, for Christine was trapped in a world of infinite night. Trapped forever, it seemed.  
"Christine, I love you, and I always will," Raoul whispered fiercely. Christine looked up to see his desperate face one last time before he was shoved through the entrance they had come, stumbling and still gasping for air.  
"Don't dare return, Monsieur Chagny!" The Phantom cried, and Christine hid her face. He was by her and had her standing in nearly an instant. One gloved hand cupped Christine's cheek and turned her to face him. Christine closed her eyes shut. "You can't hide from me forever, my angel," He whispered.  
She kept her eyes shut.  
But she couldn't keep them closed forever.


	2. Sadder Endings to Musicals - Les Miserables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sadist and a masochist. Here are some sadder endings to musicals.

Cosette was startled awake by a loud sound downstairs. Feeling brave in the moment, she climbed from her bed and took a candle, gathering the skirts of her night gown as she walked carefully down the stairs.  
"Who's there?" She whispered. When she saw the figure collapsed in a chair, she nearly dropped the candle. "Oh!"  
She ran down the stairs and set the candle on the table, then knelt before the unconscious Marius in her dining room. He was caked in mud and soaked in rain, and blood seeped through his shirt sleeve. "My God..." Cosette whispered. Before she could stand and look for bandages, Marius began to stir.  
"I...hm..." He mumbled unintelligibly. Cosette pressed a hand against his face - cold as ice - and his eyes started to flutter open.  
"Marius, are you alright?" She whispered.  
"Cosette, my love..." Marius coughed and gasped for air. Cosette ran to fetch him a glass of water, which she helped him drink. "How did I get here?" He asked after a moment.  
"I have no idea, I woke up and you were here..." Cosette said quietly. "It must be a miracle. You were on the barricade, just now?"  
Marius nodded slowly. "The others..."  
"Marius, please," Cosette cupped his cheek in her hand. "You're badly hurt. You musn't think of them now."  
"But Cosette -"  
"Marius, please."  
Marius obeyed. Cosette helped remove his blood-soaked shirt, gritting her teeth against his screams and gasps of pain as she cleaned and bandaged his arm. She took a basin of warm water and began to clean off the mud and dried blood on his skin with a clean rag. His breathing began to slow as she continued, and finally she found herself just running her hand down his chest. She looked up at him, and he was looking down at her. And suddenly Cosette found herself pressing her lips against Marius' and holding his face in her hands.  
And it went on like this for a while. Marius was slowly recovering, Cosette would do all she could to help him. But sometimes, she would see a far off look in his eyes. She would see him staring out a window, or at an empty chair, or at a spot on the wall. He would whisper to himself at night, he would begin to cry without having any idea why. And some days even Cosette's loving touch could not calm him.  
So it was no surprise when Cosette entered the bedroom one day and saw his lifeless body sprawled out on the floor, blood on the wall and gun still in his hand - cold as ice.


	3. Sadder Endings to Musicals - Rent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sadist and a masochist. Here are some sadder endings to musicals.

Roger's senses were detecting the world around him in hard, fast beats.  
"She's pale as a ghost, Roger, there's nothing we can do." Joanne. The honk of a car horn.  
"Someone call 911." Mark. The howl of a dog.  
"I'm on the phone right now, but I don't know how much time..." Tom.   
"Mimi, babe, you gotta hold on," Roger whispered, holding Mimi's face in his hands. Her body was convulsing, her eyes blinking rapidly, her lips chapped and her mouth hanging open. She was clutching on to the edge of the table, knuckles and the rest of her skin going pure white. Roger's throat was going tight.  
"R-Roger?" His name came stumbling out of her throat, followed by a cough. A tear fell on to her chest, and Roger was shocked to discover it was his.  
"I got you, don't worry, I got you," His hands were all over her shoulders, her arms, her hair. Her convulsions started to relax.  
"Roger don't let me go," Mimi whispered, and her eyes started to water. "Roger, I'm so scared."  
"Don't be, I'm here. I'm here for you always," He said softly.  
"I should tell you..." Mimi's voice came out in haggard whispers. "Benny wasn't -"  
"I know, shh, I know," Roger stroked her hair. "And when I left, I...It wasn't because I..."  
"I know, I know," Mimi said quietly. "I need to tell you -"  
"Me first," Roger said with a small smile. He ran his hand over her hair, damp and frizzy with rain. He let a hand linger on her cheek, and he tried not to think about how cold her skin was. Tried not to think about the people standing around him and watching. Tried not to think about the apparent absence of sirens. Tom still had the phone pressed to his ear, but he wasn't saying anything. "I love you," Roger whispered.  
Mimi took a deep breath, then swallowed. "I -" She coughed, and blood speckled her lips. Tears rolled down Roger's cheek again. "R-Roger, I..."  
The words escaped her lips along with her last breath.


	4. Sadder Endings to Musicals - Bonnie & Clyde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sadist and a masochist. Here are sadder endings to musicals.

They weren't expecting the rain of bullets as they neared the secluded park. Clyde made a sharp turn away from the guns, wheels screeching against the pavement. The car jutted in to a dark wooded area, rolling down a shallow slope and landing with a sick finality against a tree. In the flurry of gunfire the police hadn't been able to follow the car, and now they were at least partially concealed in underbrush.  
"C'mon babe, we gotta get outta here -" Though battered and bloody, Clyde was almost halfway out of the car when he saw Bonnie weak and breathing heavy in the next seat. "Bonnie, what're you -"  
He noticed the spot of blood growing on her chest and seeping between her fingers. He climbed back in to the car, kneeling on the seat beside her. "God no..." He whispered in a raspy voice.  
"Get outta here, baby," Bonnie whispered, voice barely above the sound of wind in the trees. "They'll find you."  
"I ain't leavin' you," Clyde grit his teeth, tears drawing tracks through the blood on his cheeks. "C'mon, we gotta get you to a hospital or -"  
"It's too late for -" Bonnie's sentence was cut short by a cry of pain. She gripped Clyde's sleeve, printing the ivory white with rich crimson. He gripped her hand back and planted a kiss on her damp forehead.  
"Don't leave me now, baby," He said. "Not like this. You gotta pull through. You gotta live that dream of yours; Hollywood, picture shows, premieres, your photograph in newspapers. You're gonna be a big star, right?"  
Bonnie smiled weakly. "How 'bout you? What about your dream about being the next - the next Al Capone?"  
"My dream already came true, baby," Clyde kissed Bonnie gently on the lips. "You're my dream."  
"FREEZE. Hands where I can see 'em, son," A group of cops were standing at the top of the slope, guns directed at Clyde's head.  
"She needs a doctor!" Clyde shouted behind him, hands at either side of his head. "She's bleedin' real bad, you gotta -"  
Clyde stopped talking when he looked back at Bonnie. Her body had gone slack, her skin pale, and Clyde thanked The Lord that her eyes were closed. Now when he thought of her in the cold clutches of prison, he could just picture her sleeping.  
"Goodnight, Bonnie baby," He whispered, cold metal cuffs cutting in to his wrist. "Sleep well."

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry. Suggest to me which musical I should write about next!


End file.
